St. Thomas went into Saturday's home game against unbeaten Concordia (Moorhead) with the top scoring offense in the MIAC.

But the Tommies relied on their defense, instead, to defeat the Cobbers 21-0 and take over sole possession of first place in the conference standings.

The Tommies, ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Division III poll, limited the No. 15 Cobbers to 108 yards and six first downs.

The Tommies (5-1, 4-0 MIAC) held the Cobbers (4-1, 2-1), who were leading the MIAC in rushing (271.5 yards per game), to 78 yards rushing.

The Tommies defense set up each of their three touchdowns.

In the first quarter, Adam Brant recovered a Cobbers fumble to give the Tommies possession at the Cobbers 43-yard line. Trettel capped the drive with a 9-yard TD run.

After the Tommies forced the Cobbers to punt from their own 16-yard line, they took over at midfield. Six plays later, Jacques Perra threw a 27-yard TD pass to Jackson Hull.

Early in the third quarter, Brant recovered another fumble at the Cobbers 25 and returned it to the Cobbers 2-yard line.

On the next play, Trettel scored.

St. John's 49, Augsburg 3: The host Johnnies, ranked No. 10, pulled away in the second half for the victory. The Johnnies, who led 14-3 at halftime, put the game out of reach by scoring twice in a minute early in the fourth quarter. Max Jackson's 44-yard interception return gave the Johnnies a 41-3 lead with 10:34 remaining. Dusty Krueger rushed for 138 yards and three TDs to lead the Johnnies.

Bethel 49, Carleton 0: Jake Marsh completed 22 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three TDs to lead the Royals past the visiting Knights. The Royals' final TD was Joey Lee's 98-yard pass to John Carlson.

St. Olaf 40, Hamline 33: Cullen Mudrak recovered a fumble at the 10-yard line with 34 seconds remaining to help the Oles hold on for the win in Northfield. The Pipers, who trailed 28-6 in the second quarter, had driven to the Oles 2-yard line in the final minute. Hamline QB Justice Spriggs tied a school record with 33 completions (for 436 yards). The Pipers' Nick Barber caught a school-record four TD passes among his 16 receptions.